


Enchanted

by PrinceyDaisy



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Inspired by Enchanted (2007), M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29742231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceyDaisy/pseuds/PrinceyDaisy
Summary: Prince Roman has lived his entire life in a world with happily ever afters, true love's kiss, and cute talking animals that listened to him sing and helped him get dressed. With his younger brother, Remus, by his side and a wonderful stepmother named Delinda, Roman is quite content with his life. Little does he know he's about to find out that there are places that don't have such happily ever afters.Based on Disney's Enchanted (2007).
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Brothers

“Get back here, you rat with scales!” Prince Remus shouted as he chased his brother’s pet dragon down the castle halls. He lunged forward, nearly grabbing the slippery lizard but getting bunched up carpet in his arms instead. He growled and pushed himself back up.

“I’d rather be a rat than an oversized moldy grape like you!” Maggie shot back, flicking zir tail at him mockingly as ze jumped up onto the upper wall trimmings, far out of Remus’s reach. Ze snickered to zirself satisfactorily and curled up on the small platform. Ze quickly woke up again at the sound of something shattering right next to zir. When ze looked back at Remus, he was holding a vase, and the remnants of another were now scattered below zir. He reeled back his arm to throw the next. Ze yelped and scurried along down the trimmings, dodging vases coming at zir like cannonballs. Ze looked over zir shoulder to see Remus not too far behind, but he was out of vases. Ze smirked victoriously.

“Aha! _Ah_!” Zir victory was cut short when the trimmings suddenly ended, and they tumbled into the wider room that had a large staircase leading to the second floor. Remus pounced on zir as soon as ze hit the floor, trapping zir under his body like he was acting as a shelter for zir from the rain. Ze wriggled around, trying to escape, but it was no use.

“Prince Remus!” a loud, regal voice boomed. Remus looked up to see his stepmother descending down the steps with a deep frown and a glare plastered on her tight yet wrinkled face. Her personal servant stood next to her with his hood up and his head down, ready to answer to whatever she asked for. “Show some dignity, boy!” Remus tightened his grip on Maggie, then stood up. Queen Delinda’s frown faded back into the usual thin line of her lips. “Your brother is coming back from one of his adventures today.” Remus gave her a firm nod, well aware of the fact. It was the reason he’d been chasing Maggie, Roman’s pet and best friend, around. Delinda reached the bottom of the steps. “The watch guard saw him arriving in the distance, which means he hasn’t perished yet, unfortunately.” She muttered the last part under her breath.

“What was that?” Remus asked.

“Nothing, dear,” she assured him, waving her hand dismissively, then gasped as she turned to the hallway. “What is this mess? Is that dragon responsible for this? Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have let him keep that wretched thing!”

“It was my fault, Mother. Don’t blame Roman’s pet. Ze’s innocent. I swear,” Remus corrected, holding Maggie up just to show the queen how not guilty ze looked. Delinda rolled her eyes and waved her hand towards her servant.

“Clean this up, Virgil, and quickly,” she demanded. “Meanwhile, I’ll be in my room and I want you to come find me once you are finished. Is that understood?”

“Yes, my Queen,” Virgil said, quickly running out of the room to grab a dustpan and broom.

“Aren’t you going to greet Roman when he returns?” Remus asked as his stepmother began to leave, his brows knitting together.

“I will see him eventually,” Delinda said dismissively, already continuing on her way. She was careful to keep to the left as not to step on the many shards littering the right side of the hallway. Virgil rushed back in and squatted by the nearest pile of debris.

“Here, let me. It was my doing anyway. You just hold Maggie,” Remus offered, holding out the dragon.

“I don’t need to be held! I’m not a baby!” Maggie objected, still trying, and failing to get out of Remus’s steel grip. He’d had enough of chasing zir around the castle; he wouldn’t let himself need to do it again.

“Oh, no, Your Highness. It’s alright. This is my job,” Virgil said, his face turning red as he met the prince’s bright green eyes. He quickly moved his gaze away from the prince and back to the mess. Remus shrugged and moved to hold Maggie close against his chest once more, but the little dragon suddenly perked up, and zir squirming grew a lot stronger. Remus stumbled as ze wildly flapped zir pale blue wings, pulling Remus towards where ze was trying to go. Remus had to let go of zir before ze dragged him across the room. Maggie took advantage of zir freedom immediately, zooming down the hallway. Remus started to cry out in frustration but stopped short when he heard familiar joyful laughter.

“Hello there, Maggie. I hope you behaved yourself for Remus,” Roman said from down the hallway, his voice slowly growing louder as he approached the stairwell room. Remus grinned as his brother came into view, sweaty and dirty from his travels, but still quite the sight to see.

“You know me, RoRo. I’m just a little angel,” Maggie, replied, blinking zir long eyelashes, and curling up in Roman’s arms like a baby. Roman giggled and scratched zir belly, then looked up to see his brother smiling at him.

“Remus!” he exclaimed. “Oh, it’s so wonderful to see you! Hold on, let me get myself freshened up and we can talk about everything I missed back home and everything that happened on my adventure. Here, hold Maggie!”

“Wait, don’t give me that evil creature again!” Remus begged, but Roman shoved zir into his arms before he could comprehend Remus’s words, then rushed upstairs. Remus held the little dragon out at arm’s length as ze swiped at him with zir sharp little claws as soon as Roman was out of sight. “Agh!” He heard a soft giggle from behind him and turned to where Virgil was cleaning, seeing him covering his mouth with one hand and blushing. The corner of his mouth quirked upward in a small smile as an idea popped into his head.

“Say, Virgil, how about you accompany me on a little troll hunt later today? We can’t let Roman have all the fun out there, can we?” Remus suggested. Virgil sat up in surprise and looked at Remus with wide eyes.

“Y-You mean me? With...with you?” he sputtered, pointing a finger to his chest, then at Remus.

“Of course I mean you. I’m certainly not talking to the dragon,” Remus said, releasing Maggie and letting zir scamper around until Roman got back. He put his hands on his hips and sighed. “So, what do you say?”

“O-of course, Your Highness. I would be honored,” Virgil said, standing up and giving him a curt bow. Remus grinned and slapped a hand on his shoulder. Virgil stumbled from the prince underestimating his own strength., but Remus hardly noticed.

“Wonderful! Then we shall set out midday!” he said. He swiftly swiped the broom Virgil was holding from his hands. “Now why don’t you go and see what my mother wants. I’ll take care of the rest of this mess. Just meet me at the stable at noon.”

“But—”

“I _insist,”_ Remus said. Virgil bit his lip. He knew it was no use arguing with Remus. He and his older brother were both extremely stubborn. He’d learned that very fast when he first started working at the castle when Delinda had married the former king. So, he just nodded and left to fulfill his next duty. Meanwhile, Remus finished up Virgil’s work.

“You have fun getting your fingers sliced up on those shards, Dukey,” Maggie said, curling up at the bottom of the steps.

“Have fun getting stepped on, scaley” Remus shot back, sticking out his tongue. Maggie lifted zir head again, zir eyes narrowed. “What? Did I strike a nerve… scaley?” Ze slowly stood back up, growling. “Have fun being covered in scales!” Ze suddenly charged at Remus.

“Have fun eating my flames, you—”

“Okay! That’s enough!” Roman’s voice suddenly cut in. He grabbed Maggie mid-air from launching zirself at Remus. “Your scales are beautiful, Maggie, but please don’t rip my brother’s face off.” Maggie immediately calmed down, going limp in Roman’s arms.

“RoRo!” ze cheered, swinging zir feet. Roman smiled and held Maggie out at arm’s length and spun around, the skirt of the long red dress he’d changed into twirling with him. His hair was damp from a shower and he looked and smelled a lot better. He brought zir in close for a hug.

“Excuse me? Where’s my hug?” Remus asked, putting his hands on his hips. Roman laughed and set Maggie down, opening his arms for his brother.

“Don’t worry! I have plenty of hugs to go around,” he assured him. Remus went in for a hug, then suddenly picked Roman up, spinning him around just as Roman had done with Maggie, making Roman laugh more. His brother’s strength always surprised him. For so long, Roman had always been taller and stronger, until Remus had a growth spurt that Roman never caught back up to. “Speaking of, where is Mother?” 

~ ~ ~

Virgil trembled as he took small hesitant steps into the Queen’s potion room. She stood in the center of it, facing away from him and staring down into her cauldron. He opened his mouth but couldn’t decide whether or not to speak. He didn’t want to startle the queen, but he didn’t want to make her wait any longer. Both options risked her wrath. He opted for awkwardly clearing his throat to alert her of his presence. She spun around upon hearing him, her intense glare immediately digging into his skin. He averted his gaze to the floor, afraid he would literally crumble into pieces if he looked at her anymore.

“Your Majesty,” he said. “I am at your service.”

“Come forth, boy,” Delinda said, motioning him to come closer with her long, bony fingers and turning back to her cauldron. Virgil walked forward and stopped beside her, looking with her at the contents, which consisted only of a glowing dark purple liquid. On the surface, a moving image appeared of the crown prince, Roman, walking with his brother. He was smiling and dancing as they went, and, knowing Roman, probably even singing too.

“If I am to keep my crown, I must get rid of that frolicking fool,” Delinda said, her eyes narrowing at the image of her stepson.

“Get rid of him?” Virgil repeated in disbelief, praying he had misheard his queen.

“Yes,” she confirmed to Virgil’s shock and disappointment. She raised a brow at his expression, then scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t harm him. Not physically. I have the perfect plan, but I need your assistance.”

“Oh, Your Majesty, I don’t think I could—“

“You won’t be the one to do it to him. I need you to keep his annoying little brother busy while I do the deed. Roman will surely scream, and if Remus hears him, he’ll come to his rescue in moments.”

“Well, Prince Remus asked me to accompany him to do some troll hunting at noon. Would that be suitable?” Virgil asked, his voice trembling as much as his hands. A wide grin grew on the queen’s face, and a dark chuckle erupted from her throat.

“Yes, so soon! That will do nicely,” she said. “You’re such a good boy, Virgil. If you do this right, perhaps I will reward you.” Virgil winced at the suggestion, knowing her idea of a reward was far from anything he’d ever wanted. He forced a smile anyway and bowed.

“You are very gracious, my Queen,” he said.

“I know. I know,” Delinda said with a smirk, wandering over to a mirror to admire herself. “And beautiful too. You are dismissed now, Virgil.” Virgil nodded and turned to the door, rushing out of the room. He gasped when he bumped into someone just a few steps out the door. He looked up, once again meeting the younger prince’s gaze. He gulped.

“Y-Your Majesty. Your sons are here!” he called out, not moving out of Remus’s way to the door.

“Tell them to go away!” the Queen barked.

“I meant they’re—” Remus shoved Virgil aside before he could finish and stepped into the room. The Queen quickly stepped in front of her cauldron, hiding it from him.

“Mother, what has gotten into you? Don’t you want to see Roman?” Remus asked. Delinda stared at Remus wordlessly for a moment, then flung the back of her hand onto her forehead and let out a soft cry.

“Oh, I simply don’t know, my dear. I just don’t feel well,” she claimed. “Just give me a moment to collect myself, then I’d love to see you, Roman. Oh! I know exactly what will help. Roman, dear, fetch me some yarrow from the garden, please. Then let’s talk.”

“I can get it,” Virgil said.

“Oh no no no! What about your big adventure? Remus, Virgil told me you’d be troll hunting today. Why don’t you get on with that?” Delinda suggested.

“But it isn’t noon yet, and Roman just got back,” Remus countered.

“Well, I’d like to spend some alone time with him, so go on, get yourselves ready, go, go, go!” the queen said. Roman turned to fetch the yarrow. “Hold on, dear. Wait until the boys are gone to go get it. Tell me about your trip.”

“Oh, okay,” Roman said. He waved goodbye to his brother and Virgil, then turned back to his mother. He opened his mouth to start recounting his journey then paused, taking one last glance down the hallway at Virgil and Remus before stepping into his mother’s room. While his gaze was busy, Delinda quickly grabbed a blanket and threw it over her cauldron to hide it from Roman’s view. “Mother, do you think I’ll ever find true love?”

“True love? Now why would you ask a thing like that?”

“It’s just… I attended this wedding during my travels and—“

“A wedding?” Delinda interjected.

“Yes, a wedding,” Roman repeated.

“That doesn’t sound very dangerous,” she said.

“Pardon?”

“Well, when you say you’ve been off on an adventure, I expected you’d be doing something a little more… exciting.”

“Oh, but weddings _are_ exciting!” Roman argued. “Every moment is filled with love and hope for the future. My wedding day will be the best day of my life! Not only will I have my future husband beside me, but you and Remus will be with me too. And Maggie, of course! I just wish father could be there too.”

“You’re boring me, child. It’s making my headache worse,” Delinda groaned. Roman’s smile dropped.

“Oh. I apologize, Mother. I’ll go fetch that yarrow now,” he said. Delinda sighed and waved him off.

~ ~ ~

The wind whipped Remus’s messy, knotted hair away from his eyes as he stood atop the large pale green troll he had just tied up as it fell forward. “Look out below!” he called out. He laughed triumphantly after hearing the satisfying thump of the troll hitting the ground. He stood in a victorious pose as Virgil rushed out of his hiding spot to congratulate him.

“Amazing, Remus! Your first troll already… and so close to the castle!” he cheered nervously, standing in front of the troll’s face. “Oh, I love hunting, er, watching you hunt trolls.” He grabbed onto the troll’s lip and hoisted himself up to climb up its face. The problem was that trolls were quite slimy, so he had a bit of trouble. “Big trolls, little trolls. Trolls, trolls, trolls.” The truth was that Virgil hated hunting trolls because they were terrifying and– “Whoa!” Virgil slipped and, in an attempt to keep himself from falling, he reached his hand out to grab something, but his arm ended up going up the troll’s nose. He stared at it with wide eyes. Disgusting. Trolls were terrifying and disgusting. Virgil pulled his hand out, almost gagging as he wiped the snot off his arm. Remus leaned down and grabbed Virgil’s hood, pulling him up onto the troll’s back to sit next to him.

“Ah, trolls are fine to pass the time, Virgil, but… my heart longs to be joined in song,” Remus said. He stood up, picking Virgil up with him and spinning him around and he danced on the troll’s back. “Just think about what it be like to meet someone who loves me for who I am. Someone to hold and cherish. Someone to protect. Someone to share true love’s kiss with!”

“Well, um, you protect your brother,” Virgil reminded him, stepping back after the prince stopped twirling him around. His face suddenly turned red. “N-not that you should kiss your brother! That’s not what I meant! I just mean—I… um, you know, you wanted someone to protect but you already have someone. A-and I’m sure Prince Roman also loves you for who you are.” He took a deep breath, fiddling with the end of his sleeve.

“I suppose you’re right,” Remus said, a small smile gracing his lips. “Thank you, Virgil. I shall devote myself to protecting Roman until I can find my true love!” He unsheathed his sword and pointed it in the air proudly.

Roman’s scream rang through the forest. Remus’s eyes widened.

“Did you hear that?” he asked, his face paling.

“Hear what? I didn’t hear anything,” Virgil said quickly, raising his voice in hopes of covering up any further screams. Of course, as soon as he stopped talking, they heard another. Remus leaped off of the troll’s back and mounted his horse. Virgil stumbled after him, awkwardly sliding down the troll’s side. But by the time he’d reached the ground, Remus was already riding away. Virgil felt his breathing pick up as he watched him get further and further into the distance. The queen would be furious if he couldn’t complete this simple task of keeping Remus away from Roman. He suddenly felt light-headed and stumbled backward. Instead of hitting the ground, he bumped into the troll. He glanced back at it, then towards the speck that was left of Remus riding away. He knew what he had to do.

~ ~ ~

Roman gripped the brick ledge lining the yarrows for dear life. The path beside them had crumbled under his feet while he was gathering the yarrows. The debris and the flowers he had collected, then dropped, had fallen into the large well below. To make it even worse, it had started raining and the ledge was slippery. Roman didn’t dare look down. He knew from his many incidents of falling off of things that looking down was always a terrible idea. Instead, he focused on maintaining his grip on the ledge.

“Help! Remus!” he cried. The call of his brother’s name was almost instinctual. Remus had always been there to protect his big brother, and Roman was embarrassed to admit he’d become sort of reliant on it. He was hesitant to face danger when Remus wasn’t around. His harrowing adventures became less and less exciting with each he went on as he grew more and more afraid. Now his so-called “adventures”, like the one he’d just returned home from, were more just peaceful sight-seeing.

Roman squeezed his eyes shut, tears threatening to spill. He could feel his fingers start to slip.

“RoRo!” Maggie’s panicked voice suddenly shouted. Moments later Roman felt a tug at his sleeve. He opened an eye and saw Maggie with his sleeve in zir teeth, flapping zir wings as hard as ze could. Roman knew that wouldn’t be enough.

~ ~ ~

“I’m coming, Roman!” Remus cried out with determination after hearing his brother call out his name. He was getting close to the castle. He’d be there in no time as long as nothing got in his way. Of course, a something took that as its cue to get in his way. That something was the troll he’d just tied up. Its large steps let it frolic right over and past him.

“Prince will make for yummy snack!” the troll said, its huge green hands held out in front of it, grabbing at the air excitedly. Remus growled and leaned forward, his horse running faster. He unsheathed his sword and rode up between the troll’s legs. He slashed to the side, his blade barely grazing its rough, thick skin. He knew that plan was a bust and didn’t bother trying again. He put his sword away and jumped up to stand on his saddle, then launched himself at the troll’s leg, taking his dagger out as he leaped and sinking it into the troll’s skin when he landed.

He could barely hear the troll’s pained howl over the wind rushing by his ears, but that soon stopped along with the troll. It lifted its leg to see what kind of pest had bitten him, lowering his head to get an even closer look. Remus bit down on the handle of his dagger and took the opportunity, to jump up at its face. He grabbed its lower lip and pushed his feet off and against his chin, using the momentum to do a backflip onto the top of the troll’s head. He grabbed his dagger again.

“Whoa! Did you see that?! I really didn’t expect that to work!” he remarked. He put his dagger away and took out his sword. He flopped onto his stomach and pointed his sword at the troll’s eye. “Stop and turn around, beast, and I’ll spare you! You’re lucky I’ve got a brother to get to. Otherwise, I might not be so kind.”

_“REMUS!”_

The prince froze. That didn’t sound like Roman that time.

~ ~ ~

“Maggie, let go or you’ll fall with me!” Roman begged as the small dragon hopelessly tugged on his sleeve. Maggie shook zir head, but that made the fabric tear. Ze yelped and bit it again. “Maggie, please! I need my brother. You’re not strong enough to pull me up, but he is.” Ze whimpered as ze looked down at the crying prince. It stung zir pride that ze couldn’t save him and Remus could, but ze knew ze couldn’t let pride get in the way of saving zir friend’s life. Ze finally let go and let out a shriek. _“REMUS!”_

“I can’t hold on much longer!” Roman said, curling his fingers as if he could dig them into the concrete to get a better grip. He closed his eyes again, clenching his jaw as he prayed for Remus to magically appear and rescue him in these final moments. “Maggie, I love you! You’ve always been such a wonderful friend. Please tell my brother and mother I love them too.” Then Roman felt his fingers finally slip, and it was like a strong gust of wind started blowing from below him, but he knew it was really him falling through the air. He didn’t scream, thinking that an expression of love was a lovely last sound to make. Until he suddenly felt himself land in a pair of strong arms and he squeaked in surprise. He opened his eyes to see a gorgeous face framed with wavy blond hair that fell around him as he looked down, smiling at him. They’d leaped across the well to catch him and had landed safely on the other side.

“My prince,” his hero spoke, his voice deep and gentle, like a murmur on a Saturday morning. “I found you.” Roman stared at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. The man sat on the ledge of the well Roman had almost just fallen into, the prince in his lap, and brought a hand up to caress Roman’s cheek, making him close his mouth. “Ever since I saw you at that wedding, I knew you were the one for me. It was love at first sight. I knew I had to have you.”

“Y-you followed me home?” Roman asked, blinking a few times as if this gorgeous hunk of a man were just a speck in his eye that would vanish any moment.

“My mother always told me to follow my dreams,” the man purred, moving his hand from Roman’s cheek to his hand and bringing it to his lips. Roman blushed and his heart fluttered. “My name is Dolion. What is yours, my sweet prince?”

“I’m Roman,” he said. Dolion yanked Roman’s hand back, pulling him upright against him. Roman, now so close to his face, could see his reflection in Dolion’s dark brown eyes.

“Roman! Oh, Roman, we shall be married in the morning!” Dolion exclaimed.

“We shall?” Roman repeated, standing up. “I mean, we shall! You saved me! I love you!” Dolion grinned and stood up as well, grabbing Roman’s waist, picking him up, and spinning him around.

“My beautiful Roman!” he cheered, then set Roman down just to pull him close. Roman happily rested his head on his hero’s chest, relaxing in his hold. “I’ve waited all my life to find you. Tell me, my prince, were you waiting for me?”

“Yes,” Roman said with a dreamy sigh. “I’ve been dreaming of you, my love, though I could never see your face until now as we finally meet. Oh, Dolion—”

“RoRo!” Maggie shouted as ze flew down towards Roman. Roman stepped away from Dolion to catch Maggie in a tight hug as ze sobbed in relief. “I thought you were a goner for sure!”

“Roman! I’m here! Where’s the danger?” Remus asked as he ran into the garden. He paused when he saw Roman standing safely on the ground next to an unknown man. He drew his sword. “Who are you? Are you trying to kidnap my brother? I swear I’ll—”

“Remus, no!” Roman cut in. Remus lowered his sword. “This man saved me. His name is Dolion. I’m going to marry him.”

“Wonderful!” Remus exclaimed, his expression quickly brightening. He put his sword away and opened his arms. “Thank you for saving my brother.” He hugged Dolion tight.

“We must go find Mother and tell her the good news!” Roman said, clapping his hands together and bouncing on his feet. Remus and Dolion nodded and both moved to pick Roman up, pausing when their hands hit each other’s. “I can walk by myself, boys,” Roman said, pushing both of their hands aside and taking them in his. “Now, let’s go!”


	2. Someone to Catch Me

Virgil could barely breathe, and not just because he had run all the way back to the castle on foot, though that was also a significant portion of the cause. His head pounded, which, on the bright side, overpowered his spiraling thoughts. Still, he struggled to get his words out in the right order as he sat on his knees in front of the queen. He sputtered out unfinished phrases and jumbles of words meant to be apologies between his sobs. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He knew he must look pathetic, but maybe that would at least make the queen pity him and lighten his punishment. He waited to let another sob pass his lips before beginning to actually talk semi-coherently. His words were still broken, so he kept on repeating himself. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Loud, vivid laughter finally got him to shut his mouth. He raised his gaze to the queen, watching as she threw her head back as she laughed. Virgil held his breath, unsure what this reaction meant. It would be foolish to relax simply because it was a seemingly positive reaction. He knew his queen well. This could still end very badly for him. She could snap and curse him to exile! She could throw him in the dungeon!

“Oh, Virgil, you are just the _cutest_ ,” she said, flicking a tear from her eye. Virgil tilted his head. A patronizing compliment wasn’t what he had expected. “Everything went according to plan, my dear. You didn’t think I’d be stupid enough to let Roman fall down the well while getting something I specifically asked for, did you? Remus may be incredibly dense, but he’d still eventually figure it out.”

“Dolion rescuing him was part of the plan?” Virgil asked. Delinda nodded.

“And you succeeded in keeping Remus away so _he_ could be the one to save him,” she added. “So stop worrying your pretty little head about it. You’ll give yourself wrinkles. You’re far too young for that.”

“So… what happens next?” Virgil asked, slowly pushing himself up off the ground.

“Roman’s going to have a little incident while in the garden with Dolion tonight,” Delinda explained.

“You’re going to frame him?” Virgil concluded, his heart sinking.

“That’s one way you could put it,” she said. “Now run along, darling. I’d like some alone time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Virgil said, bowing before quickly shuffling out of the room, fiddling with his sleeves. His gaze locked on the floor as he got lost in his anxious thoughts. He made it to the end of the hall before he felt a tug on his hood. He spun around to find Remus looking at him.

“Slow down, there, Virgil! You almost walked right into the wall!” he said.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Virgil said.

“Is something the matter? You look terribly anxious,” Remus noted.

“No, no, I always look like this. That’s just my face,” Virgil muttered.

“I know, but more so than usual,” Remus said. He put a hand to Virgil’s forehead. “Are you feeling ill? I can get you the rest of the day off so you can rest.”

“No, really, I’m fine,” Virgil promise, his cheeks going red, which only furthered his concern. He furrowed his brows, his lips pursed together. Virgil grew even more nervous under his gaze. How could someone be so stupidly handsome and also handsomely stupid? He glanced around for some opportunity or excuse to escape and found one when he saw Roman running down the hallway, not paying attention to where he was going as he fussed with his skirt. He seemed to be trying to pick it up, likely so that he wouldn’t trip, ironically. But he was headed straight for the low railing and would definitely take a tumble.

“Hey, your brother, Sir Slips-A-Lot, is going to need you in a second,” Virgil said, pointing at Roman. Remus turned just in time to see Roman fall over the railing. He rushed forward to catch him. Meanwhile, Virgil slipped away.

“Roman! Are you alright?” Remus asked, holding his frazzled brother bridal style in his arms. “You have to be more careful! I won’t always be around to catch you, you know. Seriously, you’ve done a lot of falling today, brother. Falling down a well, off the stairs…” Remus said.

“In love,” Roman added with a dreamy sigh. Remus set him down. “You don’t have to be the one to catch me now, Remus. Not with Dolion around.” He smoothed out his skirt. “Do I look okay? I’m meeting him in the garden.” Remus couldn’t find any words as his brother’s previous words bounced around in his brain. It was just a few hours earlier that Remus had found solace in his job of protecting his brother, and now Roman was tossing him aside as his protector. “Remus?”

“What?” Remus said, blinking a few times.

“I asked if I looked okay,” Roman said, doing a gradual twirl. Remus just continued to stare at him, his mouth fallen slightly open as he breathed heavy breaths. Roman furrowed his brows. He waited a few more seconds for an answer before slowly turning away. “Okay, well, I’m going to go now. Goodbye.”

By the time Remus comprehended his words, Roman was already out of sight. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.   
“You alright there, Dukey?” a familiar nagging voice asked. Remus noticed Maggie hopping down the steps. Ze almost tumbled down the last few, but flapped zir wings, giving zir the lift ze needed to find zir feet and get them below zir. Ze scampered over to Remus.

“I… I don’t think so,” he admitted, putting a hand up to his forehead. “I think I’ll retire early for the night. Please, excuse me.” He started towards the stairs.

“Alright! I’m off to spy on RoRo. I’ll let you know if anything juicy happens,” Maggie said, going off down the hallway.

~ ~ ~

The full moon shone brightly over the castle garden as Roman and Dolion sat on the edge of the well, gazing into each other’s eyes.

“You are so gorgeous, my darling. I am the luckiest man in the world,” Dolion said, brushing Roman’s bangs out of his sparkling green eyes. Roman blushed and looked away, but Dolion held his cheek and guided him back to looking at him again. “Don’t be shy, my darling. We’ll be husbands by this time tomorrow.”

“I can hardly believe it. I’ve been anticipating these moments my whole life and they’re finally here,” Roman said, his eyes shining with tears.

“Then why are you crying?” Dolion asked, his brows coming together in concern.

“Worry not, my love, for these are happy tears,” Roman assured him, giving him a bright, genuine smile as proof. Dolion’s expression relaxed and he smiled.

“Perhaps, if I may be so bold,” he said, standing up and offering his gloved hand out to Roman. “Will you dance with me?” Roman blushed and smiled, taking his hand and rising from his seat. They took two wide, graceful steps forward, Dolion bringing his free hand out to the side while Roman grabbed his skirt and pulled it outward. They turned to each other, releasing each other’s hand to bow and curtsey to each other. They stepped toward each other, holding each other’s elbows on one side and holding their hands together on the other. They began to sway along to music only they could hear. Roman eyes fell half closed as he looked up at Dolion. He felt the rest of the world slowly melt away around them, and suddenly, it was only them. They pulled apart, keeping their hands together, then pulled back in. They repeated this, but this time Dolion spun Roman around. He let out a soft giggle as he twirled, Dolion caught him around the waist and pulled him back safely into his arms. They started swaying again.

“I know I should be patient and wait for tomorrow, but would it be alright if I kissed you?” Dolion asked. Roman’s heart fluttered in his chest and his smile grew brighter. He nodded.

“I don’t see why we should have to wait,” he said. Dolion grinned and hooked his arm around Roman’s waist, making a twirling leap before he suddenly dipped him, his face leaning closer to his. Roman’s let his eyes fall close, his lips slightly parted as they waited for Dolion’s to meet them.

But then Dolion’s touch was gone.

Roman had fallen many times in his life. He was almost used to the feeling, so much so that sometimes he forgot to fear it. Because though he’d felt the air rush past him as he tumbled down, he had never hit the ground. Someone was always there. First his father. Then Remus. Now Dolion. So when he realized the ground was no longer under his feet, he didn’t scream. Instead, he waited for that pair of arms that always appeared. He waited for Dolion to bring him back into his grasp. He waited.

And the longer he waited, the more he realized there wasn’t someone there to catch him. His eyes flew open. Beyond the skirt of his dress fluttering up, only stopped by his legs, he saw Dolion standing on the edge of the well. His eyes were panicked and his mouth moving, but Roman couldn’t hear him. He still didn’t scream. In fact, he instinctually just shut his eyes again, as if his body were still clinging far too tightly to its belief that there would be arms to catch him eventually.

The next thing his body hit felt like water. It stung as it slapped against his skin, but afterward, it was nice that that awful feeling of falling was gone. He opened his eyes. Now he was floating in an ocean of stars. He could breathe, but he still felt as if he were surrounded by a liquid.

A lump suddenly grew in his throat as his body finally realized there had been no one there to catch him. He let out a sob, then took in a sharp breath. He opened his mouth to shout, but the name he wanted to call wouldn’t pass his lips. He tried to swim upward, flapping his arms and kicking his legs. He didn’t move, but his hand grazed one of the sparkling objects surrounding him and it latched to his skin. He looked at it and tried to shake it off, but felt another one cling to his cheek, then his chest, his shoulder.

Roman blinked only once and his vision of the starry ocean was abruptly taken over by hundreds of little lights binding together to blind him with their brightness. He didn’t have any time to wonder about it, however. That feeling of being tossed through the air came back even harsher than before. He was jostled and whipped around for what seemed like only a second yet also forever before he slammed into something hard and flat.

He was afraid to open his eyes again. He just wanted it to be over, to wake up in bed and find that it had all been a dream. That he’d fallen asleep while waiting for his bath to heat up after he’d returned from his adventure. Yet somehow Dolion would still be there, without this damn well ever getting involved. The ledge wouldn’t have crumbled. Dolion would arrive and simply confess his love, no rescue required.

But Roman knew the hard concrete he was pressed up against wasn’t his soft pink sheets, nor his rosy red duvet or one of his soft, fluffy pillows. He knew that this time he couldn’t just call for his brother to whisk his problems away. Not yet. He’d have to wait. Remus would— _Dolion_ would come to rescue him. In the meantime, he should figure out where he was. Slowly, he pushed himself off the ground, his eyes taking their time in opening and letting him take in his new surroundings. Not that there was much to see. All around him was a black nothingness except right below him where his hands still touched. It was there that six holes let light into the darkness.

Roman waved his hand through the beams of light. He couldn’t feel anything, not even heat. He cautiously leaned down, closing one eye and peering through one of the holes. He couldn’t see very much. He pressed his face against the wall, getting as close as possible. He gasped and leaned back when the wall budged just slightly. His mind screamed at him to just sit and wait for Dolion, but that rush that had flown through his hard just then was addicting. He hadn’t felt something like that in so long. He needed to do more. He needed to know more. He needed to see more.

He pressed against the wall with all of his strength and it once again began to budge. He scrunched up his face, grunting as he pushed as hard as he could. He saw a sliver of light appear like a crescent moon. He pushed the wall piece further to the side until there was an entire hole in the wall. He crawled through, finding gravity suddenly shifting, forcing him to pull himself up out of the hole.

A sea of noises he’d never heard before dug into his ears. High pitched wailing, masses of shouting and chatter, and strange beeping were all around him. Roman wanted to go back, but now that forward was suddenly up and back was suddenly down, he knew that wasn’t an option. He couldn’t let himself fall with only the hope of being caught again.

So instead he stood on his feet, flinching when he heard a tearing sound behind him. He turned to see a piece of his dress stuck under the round piece of wall—er, _floor_ now.

He let it go, far more intrigued by the glowing paintings on all the buildings surrounding him. The light was glaring and bright, making his head ache seemingly instantly. He covered his eyes, needing a break from it, but a loud honk interrupted that. He looked up to see something huge racing towards him. He gasped and ran to the side, narrowly missing getting hit. But the danger didn’t end there. Many smaller, similar things were coming at him. One screeched to a stop in front of him, then another ran into its side. Roman let out a terrified cry before running towards where the rest of the people were. He didn’t make it far before he was yanked back by his skirt. He turned around, almost expecting Dolion to be there with open arms ready to take him in. But he didn’t recognize any of the faces walking by him. He could barely even look at them as they passed by him like a flowing river, and he was getting caught in the tide. He was shoved and pushed further and further from where he’d come from.

“Dolion!” he cried out. “Dolion! Remus! Someone, please!” He glanced at the people around him. “Could one of you please help me? I’m lost and I—” He stopped when he saw no one was listening. No one even spared him a glance. “Excuse me!” No response. “Hello?” Nothing.

Roman put his foot down, standing firm against the crowd, forcing them to walk around them. He stomped his foot, then shouted at the top of his lungs. _“Dolion!”_ He received no answer. Of course he didn’t. Dolion hadn’t come yet. He just needed to be patient.

~ ~ ~

“No! No way you’re getting him, Ethan!”

“You just want him because I want him!”

“I’m not letting you have Hank!” Logan’s client, Phoebe, hissed at her soon-to-be ex-husband. Logan took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, then leaned back in his chair while taking a deep breath. He racked his brain trying to remember who Hank even was. They had no sons. Was this a pet he’d forgotten about? He glanced at the other lawyer, who was shuffling through his papers, looking just as confused.

“Wait a minute. Excuse me, guys. I’m getting confused. Who is Hank?” he asked, much to Logan’s relief.

“Hank Aaron,” Ethan answered. The lawyer continued to stare at him confused. “Milwaukee Braves? His 1954 rookie card.”

“A baseball card?” Logan asked in disbelief, looking back to his client. “That’s what this gets down to—a baseball card?”

“You never loved Hank like I did!” Ethan said, ignoring Logan.

“You never loved me like you loved hank!” Phoebe shot back, banging her fists on the table. Logan knew he was approaching his limit for the day, which was very hard to reach as he had taught himself how to deal with infuriating people. Lucky for him, and for the divorcing couple who’d be spared the result of breaking Logan’s breaking point, the door opened and the secretary, Valerie, stepped into the room.

“Excuse me, Logan?” she spoke, poking her head in. Logan looked up at her like she was an angel descending from heaven to save him from hell. “It’s time.” Logan’s shoulders relaxed and he turned to his client.

“Excuse me,” he said, gently tapping her wrist in an attempt to gain her attention, which was focused solely on arguing with Ethan. He quickly gave up on her and turned to the other lawyer. “I have to pick up my nephew. Can we do this in the morning around nine o’clock?”

“Nine sounds good,” the other lawyer agreed.

“Great, okay. I’ll see you then,” he said, shutting his folder of papers and standing up. “Okay, Phoebe, I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” As he expected, she didn’t answer, but he left anyway. He walked out the door with Valerie, handing her his folder.

“You came just in time. I was about to lose it,” Logan admitted as Valerie picked up his jacket to help him put it on. He put his arms through the sleeves and pulled it over his shoulders.

“The atmosphere did seem very… tense,” Valerie said. “Will you need me to remind you to pick him up again tomorrow?”

“Maybe. Probably not. I’ll let you know when I come in,” Logan said, heading towards the door. “Goodnight, Valerie.”

“Goodnight, Logan.”

~ ~ ~

Though Roman had escaped the sea of people that only ignored his cries for help, his situation hadn’t gotten any better otherwise. Rain had started to pour from the starless night sky. The streets, though quieter, were dauntingly empty. His dress had become heavy as it dampened from the rain. It was cold. He almost wished he were back in the crowd. At least it was warmer being surrounded by people. He shivered, rubbing his crossed arms with his hands.

Years ago, when he was just a boy, Roman would sit by a warm fire in the castle library when he was cold. He’d snuggle up on the couch with his younger brother and read him a story from the many shelves of books surrounding them. Remus’s favorite stories were the scary ones, while Roman preferred the ones that told of true love and happy endings. Still, he’d read aloud whatever made his brother happy.

_“Someday I’m gonna find a monster like the one in the book and make it my friend!” Remus exclaimed, slapping his hand against the page. Roman flinched away, then brushed Remus’s hand off the page._

_“I don’t think a monster like that would want to be friends with a human,” he explained. Remus pouted. “I’m sorry, Remus, but it’s true!”_

_“You don’t know that!” he cried._

_“‘Maybe not for certain,” Roman admitted, “but I have a feeling you’ll prefer defeating monsters anyway, like Dad does.” Remus gave him a doubtful look. “It’s all a long time away anyway. You’re only six. You won’t be able to go around monsters until you’re properly trained, and you’re training doesn’t even start until you’re twelve.”_

_“I guess so,” Remus shrugged. He then leaned against Roman, snuggling into his side. Roman smiled and wrapped an arm around him, then continued with the story._

A sharp bark brought Roman out of his memories, and he turned to see a small black dog looking at him, wagging its tail. Roman sighed in relief and rushed over to it, plopping down beside it.

“Hello there,” he greeted. “You have no idea how happy I am to see a furry face. The people here are very unkind. I’m very lost and afraid. I don’t know where I am, nor how to get home. I’m from the kingdom of Imagnia. Do you know where that is?” He waited for a response with his hands clasped together and his lip bit hopefully. The dog just stared at him, its tail still wagging. It started sniffing Roman’s dress, then turned away from it. “Um, excuse me!” The dog lifted its leg. Roman gasped and yanked his skirt away from the dog. The dog jumped away but noticed Roman’s shoes and grabbed one. He tugged it right off Roman’s foot and ran away.

“Hey!” Roman shouted, standing up. “Get back here with that! That’s mine!” He huffed in annoyance, then ran after the dog.

~ ~ ~

As soon as Logan’s taxi pulled up to the restaurant that he was picking his nephew up from a date from, he knew something was wrong. Janus clumped over to the car with more than his usual solemn look. He opened the car door and slid in, buckling up, then crossing his arms and looking away from his uncle. In the faint reflection on the window, Logan could still see Janus’s face. His bottom lip was trembling despite his best efforts to show nothing but a deep frown. Logan took a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to Janus.

“What happened, kid?” he asked.

“Patton’s upset with me,” he grumbled. He glanced at the tissue, resisting for a few moments before grabbing it and dabbing his eyes.

“What did you do?” Logan asked.

“That’s just it. Apparently, I’m not doing enough,” Janus sighed. “He says he feels like I don’t really love him, or at least I don’t show it.”

“Well, do you love him?”

“More than anything,” Janus said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “I’ve just never really known what showing love looks like. I thought saying I love you was enough but… it’s not.” He sighed and flopped back in his seat, looking out the window. He watched a few buildings go by, then suddenly sat up.

“Stop the car!” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt. The taxi driver stopped and Janus jumped out.

“What the hell are you doing?” Logan asked, scrambling to unbuckle his seatbelt and run after him.

“Hey! Sparky!” Janus shouted. “Come here, boy! Drop it!” Logan heard bark before he saw a small black dog running towards Janus with a white shoe in its mouth. It dropped it at his nephew’s feet. Janus picked it up and walked forward. “Are you alright, Sir? You need to get down from there, it’s dangerous!”

“Oh, yes, I’m fine. I just—whoa!”

“Who the hell are you talking to? Janus, get back here!” Logan demanded. As he walked closer, he realized Janus was looking up at a platform, where a man in a long red dress was losing his balance.

“Uncle! Catch him!” Janus said, grabbing Logan’s arm and shoving him under where he expected Roman to fall. Roman did indeed lose his balance, and Logan put his arms out to catch him. He didn’t exactly succeed at that, but he did break his fall.

“Ow!” they both cried out.

“Are you alright?” Janus asked, rushing over to them.

“I’m fine,” Roman said, though still cringing a bit from the pain.

“What were you doing up there?” Logan asked, rubbing his elbow.

“That dog stole my shoe and ran up there. I was trying to get it back,” Roman explained. Janus handed him his shoe.   
“That’s my friend’s dog. He gets out a lot,” Janus told him. Roman put his shoe back on. “Are you lost or something?” Roman nodded.

“I’ve been wandering very far and long tonight and I’m afraid no one has been very nice to me,” he said.

“Yeah, well, welcome to New York,” Logan said sarcastically. Roman looked up at him and smiled, his shoulders relaxing.

“Thank you,” he said. Logan stared at him wordlessly for a few moments before nodding.

“Right,” he said. “Look, do you need me to call someone for you?”

“That would be nice, but I don’t think he’d be able to hear you from here,” Roman said. Before Logan could even begin to wonder what that meant, a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning distracted him.

“Alright, come on, let’s get home, then we’ll see if we can get you a car from there,” Logan said, motioning for the other two to follow.

“I’m Janus,” Janus introduced as they walked back.

“Roman,” Roman replied with a small curtsey.

~ ~ ~

“And then, as we were dancing, the floor underneath me just seemed to disappear, and I was suddenly falling down, down, down,” Roman explained as they walked towards Logan’s apartment. “And then I climbed out of this big round hole and I got very lost until that dog stole my shoe and now I’m here with you!”

“So is this like a habit of yours?” Logan asked, starting to dig around in his coat for his keys. “Falling off stuff?”

“Well, usually someone catches me,” Roman said. “But I’m not too worried. I’m certain that Dolion is already searching for me. No doubt by morning he’ll come and rescue me from this strange land, take me home, and the two of us can share true love’s kiss.”

“True love’s kiss?” Logan repeated with a tone of almost disgust. He got his keys out and shuffled through them for the one that would let them in.

“It’s the most powerful thing in the world,” Roman said.

“Right,” Logan said, shoving the key into the door. “Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but I can’t really tell. Are you a man or a woman?”

“I’m a prince,” Roman answered.

“So a man,” Logan concluded. Roman shook his head.

“No, a prince,” he repeated. “But you can refer to me with he/him pronouns if that’s what you’re asking.” Logan nodded.

“Yeah, gotcha,” he said. “He/him.”

“Now if I could only find a place to rest my head for the night,” Roman said.

“What kind of placed?” Logan asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Roman said. “Maybe a nearby meadow or a hollow tree.”

“A hollow tree?” Logan repeated in slight disbelief.

“Or a house full of dwarves! I hear they’re very hospitable,” Roman continued.

“Well, like I said, all I can really do is let you in for a minute, dry off, use the phone if you want to,” Logan said, opening the door gesturing for Janus to go inside.

“That’s very kind of you,” Roman said, following Janus. After only one step forward, he tripped on his dress, making another tear in the fabric.   
“What’s with this dress of yours? It’s very… fancy,” Logan noted, offering a hand to help Roman up. Roman took it and let Logan pull him up.

“Oh, this? Oh, it’s my favorite!” Roman said, doing a twirl. He looked down at the wet, dirty dress and frowned. “Well, it used to be. I suppose I’ll have to toss it out now.” He sighed, but then clasped his hands together, brightening back up. “But that’s no matter. I can just make a new one once I return home.”

“Wait, so you’re saying you made this?” Janus asked.

“Of course! I make all of my clothes,” Roman said. “Except the ones that my brother gave me after he outgrew them so suddenly, but I hardly wear those anyway. I much prefer red to green.”

“Alright, anyway, let’s just see about getting you a car,” Logan said. He gestured to the couch. “Go ahead and take a seat, relax for a bit while I get that figured out.” Roman walked towards the couch, almost tripping again as he walked.

“Why can’t he sleep here?” Janus asked in a low voice. “It’s only one night.”

“No, no. Absolutely not. We can’t just let strangers sleep in our apartment. You’re 19 now, Janus. You should know better,” Logan said, taking off his coat and hanging it up.

“Well, to be fair, I didn’t have many quality life lessons from my parents growing up,” Janus said.

“I suppose that’s true,” Logan said. “Get yourself ready for bed. It’s getting late. I’ll take care of our prince problem.”

“Goodnight, Uncle Lo,” Janus said.

“Goodnight, Janus.”

As Janus passed Roman on his way to his room, he couldn’t help but pause.

“So do you seriously think you’re a prince?” Janus asked.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t raised in a castle for some other reason,” Roman said, then let a yawn escape past his lips. He lay on his side, his hands tucked under his head. Janus couldn’t help but smile. He continued on his way to his room.

“Hi. I need a car at 116th and Riverside, please,” Logan said, walking towards the couch. The man on the phone told him to hold. He furrowed his brows when he noticed Roman lying down, but his expression softened when he saw how peaceful he looked in his sleep. As he waited in silence for the man over the phone, only the occasional rumble of thunder breaking through, Logan wondered if Janus was right. Maybe one night wouldn’t hurt. So when he heard a voice ask for the destination, Logan hesitated in his response, then hung up.

Yeah. One night wouldn’t hurt.


	3. Curtains

Maggie bounded down the hallway towards Remus’s room, a thousand thoughts running through zir mind, all overpowered by the loudest one— _Roman, Roman, Roman._ Tears blurred zir vision, but ze knew zir way through the castle by heart. Ze had stumbled around in the night on zir way to prank Prince Remus enough times to know where his room was without looking. Still, in zir panic, ze bumped into many things along the way, making a mess in zir path.

“Dukey! Dukey! You gotta come here!” ze cried out as ze burst through his doors. Remus groaned and rolled over in bed so that he faced away from Maggie. The little dragon flew over to his bed and pounced on his side. “Wake up! Wake up!”

“Maggie, I told you. I’m going to bed early. Whatever it is, it can wait for the morning, I’m sure,” Remus mumbled sleepily, knocking Maggie off his side with his elbow. Maggie growled and jumped over him, getting up in his face. Ze pressed their front paws on Remus’s face, just lightly enough so that zir claws wouldn’t dig into his skin.

“It can’t, actually,” ze told him firmly, “so get your stinky butt out of bed!” Ze ascended into the air as Remus started to move, groaning dramatically as he threw the covers off his body. Maggie turned away, knowing from an unfortunate experience that Remus usually slept nude.

“What? What could possibly be so important that you must rob me of my well-deserved rest?” Remus asked as he sat up sharply. Maggie peeked back at him, relieved to find he’d at least kept on his underwear that night. Ze turned back to him.

“It’s RoRo! That’s what’s so important!” ze shouted. Remus froze. Then, in an instant, he was shoving his clothes back on and racing out the door and down the hallway towards the garden. Maggie flew after him. “Wait up, genius! I haven’t even told you what happened to him yet!” But Remus didn’t stop. He didn’t even slow down. If Roman was in trouble, he needed to be there as soon as possible.

He burst through the glass doors leading to the garden, almost with enough force to shatter them. He stomped with a deep scowl towards Dolion, who sat beside the edge of the well with his eyes wide and his mouth hung open. Remus grabbed the front of his shirt with both fists and pulled him up onto his feet, sinking his deep, enraged glare into his skin. Dolion stared back at him blankly.

“What have you done? Where is my brother?” he growled, raising Dolion off the ground. The rather athletic man looked pathetic compared to the prince at that moment.

“He’s gone!” Dolion wailed, letting his head fall back. “He’s gone! He’s gone, and it’s all my fault!”

“What did you do?” Remus asked again, his voice growing louder.

“Roman fell down the well while he was dancing with Dolion,” Maggie said as ze finally caught up to Remus. Ze flopped onto his shoulder and panted heavily, exhausted from the flight to and from Remus’s room.

“What?!” Remus said, dropping Dolon. He crumpled onto the floor and put his head in his hands.

“But there was a flash after he fell, which means this isn’t an ordinary well, at least not at the moment. Someone’s put a spell in its waters that’s turned it into a portal,” Maggie said. “So at least we know he didn’t get hurt by the fall.”

“Then we have to go after him! Come on, Dolion!” Remus said. He stood at the edge of the well and looked down.

“It’s no use. He’s gone. He’s gone. He’s gone,” Dolion repeated almost robotically.

“We don’t have time for him. Let’s just go!” Maggie said.

“You’re right,” Remus said, then looked down at the well. “Fear not, Roman! I shall rescue you!” He took a few steps back before running up to the well and diving in headfirst. Maggie lifted zirself off Remus’s shoulder just before he jumped, then dove down after him, zir wings folded back at zir side and a determined look across zir scales.

As they seemed to near some sort of bottom, ze spread zir wings to lessen zir fall, but even with them spread at zir side, ze didn’t slow in the slightest, plopping into the same galactic ocean Roman had at the same speed as Remus. Though ze was incredibly curious to see inside the portal, ze didn’t get much time to take in the sights before ze was suddenly zooming upward, then bursting into bright daylight. Ze flapped zir wings as ze fell back towards the ground after being launched out of it like a bullet, but once again zir wings seemed to serve no use, and ze crashed right onto the ground.

“Maggie!” Remus said, scooping the poor dragon up. “Are you alright? You look… different.”

 _Take a look in the mirror before you judge, Dukey!_ Maggie tried to say, but all that came out were strange squeaky growls and hissing sounds. Ze snapped zir mouth shut, then cleared zir throat before trying again and getting the same result. “What’s wrong with you, Maggie? Has this strange world damaged your throat? Will you ever be able to speak again?”

 _It should’ve been you,_ Maggie thought, though only a grumble came out.

“Ride on my shoulder and rest, you poor thing,” Remus said, setting zir there. Maggie whined unapprovingly but latched onto Remus’s shirt with zir claws regardless. Ze shut zir eyes only for a moment before the sound of Remus unsheathing his sword got zir worried enough to open them again. He was pointing it at some man in a flannel shirt and a bright orange vest. The man had his hands up and a fearful look in his eyes.

“Why do you approach me, peasant? Do you have information on the whereabouts of my dear brother?” Remus asked. Maggie hissed scoldingly and batted Remus’s cheek, but Remus ignored zir.

“I-I don’t know where your brother is,” the man said. Remus raised a brow at him. “Honest! I don’t! I’m just here to fix the manhole.” Remus glanced behind him to where the man was gesturing, seeing the hole he had just come out of. He put away his sword.

“Continue your duty, good citizen!” Remus said, patting the man’s shoulder. “Let’s be off, Maggie!” Remus ran forward through the street, jumping up onto the first vehicle he saw. Maggie, bound by zir sudden inability to speak, could only hang on tight.

* * *

Accustomed to waking up from the sweet chirping of birds at his window or the gentle nudge of Maggie as ze flopped around in zir sleep, Roman felt woken up far too abruptly by the loud wailing of a siren passing by Logan’s apartment building. He sat up quickly, like he’d just escaped a terrible nightmare. His heart was pounding in his chest. He put a hand over it and took a few deep breaths until it slowed down. Once calm, he looked around, memories of the previous night flooding his mind. Dolion. The well. The bright lights and loud noises. The dog. His shoe. The kind strangers.

He glanced around the apartment, his heart speeding back up at just how unfamiliar everything in it was to him. If he hadn’t remembered falling down the well and all that followed, Roman would have thought he’d been captured by some strange sorcerer. That would explain all of the strange things lying around. Maybe Logan _was_ a sorcerer. But would a sorcerer be so kind to him? Did that mean this must be a trap?

Roman shook his head. Dolion would never let him wander into the hands of a sorcerer. If that was even a possibility, he’d have been there to rescue Roman long ago. Still, his surroundings were far from what he was used to, and far from pleasant for the most part. The chairs were stacked with papers, the kitchen counter was covered by empty takeout food containers, the coffee table was taken over by magazines and books, the closet was open and coats had fallen onto the floor, jackets were strayed across many pieces of furniture, the dust in the room was making Roman’s nose itch, and the lack of fresh air was sickening. He gasped.

“Oh! Wouldn’t it be a wonderful surprise for Logan if I cleaned this place up?” he thought to himself, clasping his hands together excitedly. He stood up and made his way over to the window. “It’ll be my little way of thanking him for letting me stay.” He grinned, opening up the window and leaning his head out. He took a deep breath, expecting to be refreshed by the scent of nature, but all he breathed in was thick, nasty air that made him cough.

“Uegh,” he said, shivering and shaking his head, his nose scrunched up in disgust. “I’ll definitely need some assistance.” He put a hand up to his mouth and started to vocalize. _“Ah, ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!”_ He pulled his head back in and picked up the nearest foreign object.

It was a short silver stick with a thick brown handle on one end and a paw shape on the other. The paw had five pads and five claws, leading Roman to believe it was supposed to be a bear’s. Roman tugged on the paw, wondering if it was detachable. Instead of the paw coming off, however, the stick elongated. Roman gasped in amazement.

“Incredible,” he remarked. “What kind of strange weapon is this?” He held it out in front of him like a sword and slashed it through the air, giggling. “Remus would love to have one of these.”

A soft warbling from the open window diverted Roman’s attention again. He spun around and saw a pigeon standing on the windowsill. He collapsed the mysterious weapon and put it aside. He smiled and opened his mouth to greet the bird, but stopped when the pigeon flew inside, followed by many more pigeons. He then felt something scuttle across his foot and looked down to see rats running across the floor, all scurrying out from the kitchen cupboard. Something else then buzzed by his ear and he noticed the swarm of flies that had also answered his call. He looked around at his new crew, nervously biting his lip. These animals were far different from the ones in Imagnia.

“It’s um, lovely to meet you all,” he said. A meow came from behind him and Roman looked to see an orange cat climbing through the window. “Oh, well, the more the merrier I suppose.” He sighed, then clapped his hands. “Alright, everyone! Let’s tidy things up!” He gestured for the animals to follow him as he made his way towards the kitchen.

 _“Come, my little friends as we all sing a happy little working song. Merry little voices clear and strong. Come and roll your sleeves up so to speak and pitch in,”_ he sang, grabbing a broom and starting to sweep the floor, _“cleaning crud up in the kitchen as we sing along.”_ One of the pigeons landed on the table while another grabbed a trash bag and held it up at the edge of the table. The first pigeon used its wings and tail to brush crums and containers off the table and into the trash bag. The cat got the idea and jumped up onto a chair, then up onto the table to help push the bigger stuff. Roman smiled with satisfaction and pointed the rest of the animals towards the bathroom, then followed them in.

He pulled the plug to the bathtub, surprised when cockroaches came crawling out of it. He jumped back nervously at first but then realized as they spread out across the tub that they were here to help too.

 _“Trill a cheery tune in the tub as you scrub a stubborn mildew stain. Pluck a hairball from the shower drain,”_ he continued, _“to the gay refrain of a happy working song.”_ He grabbed some sponges and filled a bucket with soapy water, then plopped down on the floor and started to scrub. The rats wanted to join in, so he handed them some sponges as well. _“We’ll keep singing without fail; otherwise, we’d spoil it. Hosing down the garbage pail and scrubbing up the toilet!”_ The rats and cockroaches had the bathroom under control, so Roman moved on to the living room.

 _“How we all enjoy letting loose with a little la da dum dum dum,”_ Roman sang as he skipped into the room to find some of the animals were already cleaning, using a strange machine Roman had never seen before to suck the dirt off the floor. Unfortunately, three of the cockroaches got sucked in. Roman gasped and immediately came to their aid. _“While we’re emptying the…”_ he looked at the label on the machine, “vacu-um?” He shrugged and scooped the cockroaches out of the dusty container. _“It’s such fun to hum a happy working song.”_

 _“Ooh!”_ the cockroaches joined in, swaying side to side before flying away.

 _“A happy working song!”_ Roman sang, standing up. He went over to the balcony, opening the doors to let in some birds who had brought some potted plants. He let them fly in before stepping outside. _“Oh, how strange a place to be. Till Dolion comes for me, my heart is sighing.”_ He gripped the railing and slowly looked around, taking in all that there was to see in this odd place. _“Still, as long as I am here, I guess a new experience could be worth trying!”_ He smiled and walked back inside, checking on the animals in the kitchen. _“Hey! Keep drying!”_

Roman grabbed a duster and started skipping through the apartment, holding his dress up with one hand the duster in the other, dusting the things he passed.

 _“You can do a lot when you’ve got such a happy working tune to hum while you’re sponging up the soapy scum,”_ he continued. _“We adore each filthy chore that we determine. So, friends, even though you’re vermin, we’re a happy working throng!”_ Roman heard a crash, so he looked and saw the birds struggling to put away the clean plates and rushed over to help, also cleaning up the broken plate on the floor. _“Singing as we fetch the detergent box for the smelly shirts and the stinky socks.”_ He closed the cupboard after putting the final plate away and looked around, finding the kitchen sparkling clean. He clapped his hands and twirled into the living room.

 _“Sing along!”_ he sang. _“If you cannot sing, then hum along,”_ one more bird flew through the window and handed Roman a bouquet of flowers. Roman put it in a vase as a final touch, _“as we’re finishing our happy working song!”_ He fell back onto the couch and sighed. “Wasn’t this fun?”

* * *

Janus forced himself out of bed after hearing a crash outside his room. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, dragging his feet across the floor. In a second he went from barely being able to open his eyes to them going wide when he saw all the pests skittering around the apartment. And not only that, but Roman dancing among them too. He blinked a few times, wondering if he was dreaming, then realized it wouldn’t be wise to bet on it and go back to bed. He ran to Logan’s room.

“Uncle Lo! Logan!” he said as he ran over to his sleeping uncle, shaking his shoulder to wake him up. Logan groaned and slowly sat up.

“What? What is it? Are you okay?” Logan asked.

“You won’t believe me if I tell you. Just follow me,” Janus said, tugging on Logan’s arm.

“Fine, fine, I’m coming,” he said, grabbing his glasses and getting off the bed before Janus could pull him right off. They rushed down the hallway, stopping in front of the living room. Logan froze. “What the..? Get them out. We gotta get them out. Open the door!” He ran forward and started shooing the animals off his furniture. Janus rushed towards the door, opening and watching as Logan herded them towards it, shutting it when the last one ran out. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“What was that?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Janus said. “I just heard something, so I got up and found Roman with—” Janus stopped when he heard vocalizing coming from the bathroom. Logan turned around and walked towards the door, holding his hand out towards Janus.

“Stay there,” he instructed as Roman’s vocalizing turned to simple humming. He walked up to the door and knocked.

“Come in!” Roman’s chipper voice replied. Logan opened the door just as Roman pulled back the shower curtain. “Good morning, Logan!” Logan quickly averted his gaze until two pigeons gave Roman a towel that he wrapped around himself. “Oh! That’s too thoughtful of you! Thank you, friends!” Roman turned back to Logan. “Oh, I hope you had nice dreams.”

“I think I’m still in one,” Logan muttered.

“This is a magical room!” Roman said. “Where does the water come from? Back home if I wanted to wash up like this, I’d have to visit the waterfall, and that water is always so cold, but the water here just comes out of that thing all nice and warm!” He smiled, folding his hands together and swaying as he spoke.

“Uh, well, the water comes from the pipes,” Logan explained, walking over to the shower and shutting it off.

“And where do the pipes get it?” Roman asked, glancing in the mirror and fluffing his hair, which he had kept dry.

“They get it from… uh, wherever the pipes get it,” Logan said.

“Oh, Roman said, turning back around. “It is magical.” Logan just nodded.

“Okay, well, I guess you’ll need some clothes,” Logan said, turning and opening the bathroom door. “My clothes will be too big for you, but you and Janus look to be a more similar size.” He paused. “How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-three,” Roman said. “And actually, I already have something to wear.”

“Than I’m going back to bed,” Janus said, turning around to go back to his bedroom.

“And I need to get ready for work,” Logan said, passing Roman on his way to his own bedroom. Roman stood awkwardly for a few moments until he heard warbling behind him and turned to see two pigeons carrying his finished new dress. He smiled gratefully and took it from them, letting his towel fall onto the floor.

“Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me. I won’t forget you,” Roman said before slipping on the dress while the pigeons finally flew out the window. As he poked his head out of the top hole, the object he found before caught his eye again. He grinned and grabbed it, slashing it around like a sword once more. He didn’t hear Logan as he emerged from his room again.

“Wait, Roman, how do you already have something to—” Logan stopped when Roman spun around, accidentally pointing the object at Logan’s face.

What are you doing with that thing?” Logan asked, grabbing the middle of it and making Roman lower it. “And what are you wearing?” He glanced behind Roman and noticed the dress pattern cut out of his curtains. “Are those my curtains?”

“Yes, I hoped you wouldn’t mind,” Roman said, twirling around. “And what is this magnificent tool?” He held up the object.

“That? That’s a back scratcher. You use it to reach that spot on your back you can’t reach with your hands,” Logan explained.

“Oh,” Roman said, the disappointment evident in his tone and falling expression. “I usually just have Maggie scratch my back if I can’t reach it.”

“Maggie? I thought you said your prince was Damien,” Logan said.

“Dolion,” Roman corrected. “Maggie’s my best friend. She’s a dragon.”

“Of course she is,” Logan sighed. “And for the record, I do mind that you used my curtains to make a dress.”

“Really? But the rat that lives in your wall said she always hears you saying you hate these curtains. I thought you must be getting new ones soon anyway.”

“Why would I do that? I mean, yes, I absolutely despise them, but they’re just curtains,” Logan said. “Wait, did you say there’s a rat in my wall?”

“Well, she’s moving out soon. She says there’s too much negative energy, which probably comes from you hating your curtains,” Roman explained, starting to dance around the room over to the cut-up curtains. “I think they’re lovely though.”

“Obviously,” Logan said, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry I made you unhappy, Logan. Especially after you’ve been so incredibly kind to me. I promise I’ll make you new curtains once Dolion takes me home, then I’ll send them to you,” Roman promised. “What’s your favorite color? I’ll make them that!”

“I don’t have a favorite color,” Logan said, then shook his head. “I don’t have time for this. Look, I’m going to finish getting ready for work, and you are going to stand here and play with the backscratcher and not touch anything… else.” Logan trailed off when he glanced around and finally noticed just how neat his apartment suddenly was. “What did you do to this place?” He walked over to the window. “Where did all these plants come from?”

“I just tidied it up with the help of my friends,” Roman said. “The pigeons brought the plants in. I’m not sure where they got them from, but make sure to water and sing to them daily or they’ll wilt.”

“Sing to them?” Logan repeated.

“Of course,” Roman said. “Even if you just hum a little tune, it’s enough to keep their spirits up.” He walked over to a pot of begonias, cradling one that was sagging in his hands and humming a short melody. The flower perked right back up. He smiled. “See?” He looked back at Logan, who was just staring at him. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s like you hopped right out of a book of fairytales,” Logan said, lightly shaking his head. “This is ridiculous. I’m leaving before you can do any more weird magic stuff. I can’t take any more distractions.” He swiftly turned and marched back into his room. Roman shrugged and continued swinging around the back scratcher.

* * *

Queen Delinda’s sharp nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists at her sides, watching through her magic cauldron as Remus ran through the streets of New York in search of Roman. Her servant trembled beside her as he always did, this time for good reason.

 _“How could you let this happen?”_ she shouted, slamming her hands on the sides of the cauldron, tipping it with the uneven force she brought down upon it. The liquid sloshed up over the edge and singed her dark purple glove. She pulled her hand back. “Agh!” She turned to Virgil and growled.

“I didn’t know!” Virgil swore. “I saw Remus going into his room while Roman was going to the garden. I thought he’d stay there.”

“You fool! Do you realize what could happen?” Delinda shrieked.

“I don’t understand, Your Majesty. Isn’t this a good thing? If you block the portal, neither of your stepsons would be able to return,” Virgil said. He hated to suggest the idea, but he knew it might be the only thing to calm the queen and perhaps even spare his life.

“No, I can’t, you simpleton! How suspicious would it be if both of my stepsons disappeared on the same night?” she demanded. “The people would have my head! Is that what you want? You want the whole kingdom to come after me so that _you_ can steal my crown? That’s it, isn’t it?”

“No! No! I swear!” Virgil cried, putting his hands up defensively. “I only want what’s best for you, my queen. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you! I’ll do anything!”

“Of course you will,” Delinda scowled. “You are going to follow Remus down that well and make sure he returns _without_ Roman. Do you understand?” Virgil hesitantly nodded. “Good.” The queen grabbed Virgil by the arm and dragged him toward the garden. Virgil had no other choice but to let her. Though he supposed he wouldn’t have been strong enough to defy the queen’s grasp even if there were a chance for him if he did. The queen pulled him in front of her, facing her. She grabbed the front of his shirt and leaned him back over the well.

“One last thing, dear Virgil,” she hissed. “If you fail try to escape me by starting anew in this other world, don’t doubt for a moment that I will be able to hunt you down and drag you back here, or worse. Understood?” Virgil nodded quickly. The corner of the queen’s lips quirked up in a small, devilish smile before she released Virgil’s shirt and let him fall into the abyss.

She glanced to the side and noticed Dolion still hunched beside the well.

“Oh, I suppose I have no more use for you now,” she said, waving her hand and letting her illusion vanish. Virgil caught just a glimpse of it before he plunged into the ocean of stars. 

The next thing he knew, he was stuck, dangling from something with only his legs keeping him from falling. He nearly screamed when he felt something grab them, but relaxed when he realized they were pulling him to safety. As soon as his hands touched the ground, he squirmed out of their grip and stood up, brushing sparkles off his clothes that flew up into his face and made him sneeze.

“Where do all these people keep coming from?” one of the men who pulled him up asked. Virgil smiled awkwardly and waved.

“Sorry, don’t mind me, just looking for a prince,” he mumbled as he walked away as fast as he could. He pulled his hood over his head, which sent more sparkles in his face, sending him into a sneezing fit. He stumbled backward, already weak in the knees from his nerves. He fell flat on his bottom, then groaned and almost wiped his nose on his sleeve before he realized it probably just had more sparkles on it.

“Do you need a tissue, dear?”

Virgil looked up after hearing the sweet voice, finding an elderly woman standing in front of him with a tissue in the hand she extended towards him. He hesitantly took it as he stood up. He blew his nose.

“Thank you,” Virgil said. “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a prince around here, would you?” He tossed the tissue into a nearby trashcan.

“As a matter of fact, I have,” the lady said, putting her hands on her hips.

“You have? Where?” Virgil asked. The lady pointed at the street, where Remus was hopping from vehicle to vehicle, occasionally ducking down and looking through the windows, calling out his brother’s name before moving on. Virgil cringed. “This is going to be a disaster.” 


End file.
